Just North of Normal
by dance818
Summary: When sisters Jana and Justice Grey go to Gravity Falls to live with their aunt Stella for the summer, they, with the help of their new friends, Dipper and Mabel, unlock the town's mysterious secrets.
1. Surprise!

My name's Jana Grey. I live with my older sister, Justice, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Here's the story of my craziest summer. It all started with my parents.

I was in my bedroom, watching YouTube videos on my laptop, and wondering what to do with my summer. My best friend, Rachel, was out of town, my other friends, twin sisters Sam and Gina, were at summer camp, and I was bored out of my mind. "Jana! Come downstairs! We have something important to tell you!" my mom, Lily, called from the living room. I closed my laptop and ran downstairs. Maybe we were going on vacation! Or maybe it was bad news. Justice was already there.

My mom and dad watched me enter the room. "Sweetie, do you have any plans for this summer?"

My dad asked. I rolled my eyes. "No." I said. "Good, because you and your sister are going to live with your aunt Stella in Gravity Falls, Oregon." "What?!" me and Justice shouted at the same time.

Yep, it was bad news."Sweetie, we don't have any other options. And we want you to enjoy your summer."Justice stood up. "We're not going to enjoy it if we spend it in the middle of nowhere! I mean, seriously, mom, Gravity Falls? How many people even live there?!" "And I've never met aunt Stella."

I chimed in. "Do you really want me to spend my summer with a stranger?" "Yes." My dad muttered.

My mom elbowed him, glaring. "I promise you, this will be fun! I hear there's a place there called the Mystery Shack. You should check it out!" I shrugged. "Sounds like some cheesy tourist trap." Justice nodded in agreement. We were both giving our parents the evil eye. Mom and dad didn't budge.

Their decision was final. We went upstairs to pack for what could be the worst summer of our lives.


	2. Phone Calls and Summer Love

"I swear, I'm staying right here in good old NC." Justice pointed to the shag carpet at her feet.

"Jeez, does Gravity Falls sound boring or what?" I wasn't in the mood to talk about it.

"Nothing we can do. We're going, whether we like it or not." "Don't be so pessimistic, Jana-Banana!"

She tapped my nose. "Oh dear God, you don't think aunt Stella knows my family pet name?!"

"Yeah, I totally think that." She was stifling laughter, and I could tell. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, giving her one of those "I know you're-just-kidding-but-shut-up" looks. I changed the subject."The Mystery Shack. What the heck is a mystery shack?" "You said it yourself. A tourist trap

in the middle of the woods." I shrugged. I called Rachel first, then Sam; since Gina was with her,

I talked to both of them. Justice called all of her sixteen-year-old friends. The teen years are overrated.

Half of these so-called 'friends' are pretty much total strangers to me and my parents. I threw my last shirt on top of the pile, having my sister sit on my suitcase so I could close it. Rachel was depressed when I gave her the news. "Aw, that must suck! Now we can't spend _any _time together. Well, if it makes that lousy summer any better, I'll call you all the time. Pinky-swear?" We proceeded with our over-the-phone ritual of holding up our pinkies. "Pinky swear." I echoed. I didn't have to see Rachel to know that her pinky was up, too. I just _knew _it. "Maybe I'll find someone to keep me company, if you know what I mean." I gave Rachel a wink she couldn't see. "You think you're gonna find a boyfriend this summer?" "I don't think so, I know so. We're almost the only girls left in our grade who have never dated. You know I've secretly always wanted a boyfriend." I let my thoughts wander off for just a little too long. "Hello?" "Oh, sorry. I have to go. Bye, Rachel." "Bye, Jana! I'm really gonna miss you!"

"Same." I sighed. "Bye." I was in a terrible mood when I hung up. Almost three months without my friends or family! I remembered my own words about finding summer love. "I don't think so, I know so."


	3. Welcome to Gravity Falls

Justice drove all the way there, with the help of her GPS, in one day. By sunset, we arrived at aunt Stella's place. It was a big house with an even bigger yard, from the looks of it. I was hesitant to get out of the car. "Justice, are you sure this is the right place?" We saw a billboard in the distance: Welcome to Gravity Falls! My sister looked at me for a second. "This is the right place." We knocked on the door, and aunt Stella let us in. She was a relatively short woman, with long blonde hair. She seemed nice enough.

"Welcome, girls! I promise you, this is going to be a great summer! Your room is upstairs, second door on the left." I had to wonder what the first door was. We went up to our room and unpacked. Justice took the bed I wanted, so I was left with the one closer to the door. After a few days, we were all settled in, not to mention bored. We decided to go to that Mystery Shack place. And that's when things to a huge turn; for better or for worse? I'm not really sure.


	4. The Mystery Shack

We walked up the creaky stairs, and I threw open the unlocked door. The place was full of replicas of important artifacts and tons of cheesy merchandise. We noticed two kids my age, obviously twins,sweeping and cleaning up around the shack. I decided to go talk to them. I needed some friends around here!

"Hi, I'm Jana Grey. I kind of just moved here with my sister, so..." They waved to me. "Hi. I'm Dipper Pines. This is Mabel." he held his hand out, and I shook it. He was undeniably cute. I bit my lip and went to check out some merchandise. I probably looked like a total idiot, making googly eyes at Dipper the whole time. Justice hopped up on the shelf next to me. "Whatcha lookin' at, buddy?" She looked at me, then Dipper, then me again. Suspicions confirmed- I looked like an idiot. "No." "What?" "Someone's got a crush!" "I, um.. well... um.. I... Ugh! You tell no one!" Laughing, Justice hopped off the shelf and walked away. I noticed a strange book in the corner. "Dipper, what's that?" He quickly placed himself in front of it. "Oh, that's nothing! That's just.. nothing." I raised an eyebrow. "Okayy..." I shrugged, turning around. "Well, we really need to get going, so... I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" "Okay. See you tomorrow." "Bye!" Mabel said with a wave. Time to go home. And hopefully stay there forever, considering how well that went. Only time would tell what they were really like. And only time would tell what was in that book.


	5. Journal 4

We spent the next few days hanging out at the Mystery Shack. I was glad to finally have some friends. It looked like my sister really hit it off with Wendy, another employee. One day, once Justice and aunt Stella were asleep, I opened the door that I had been curious about since we came here. It was a small room, full of boxes, dust, and cobwebs. I noticed something shimmering in the moonlight. I walked toward it, and I picked up a book. It looked just like the one Dipper had, except this one had a number 4 on the cover. "No way!" I whispered. I opened it, and what I saw frightened me. On the first page, in dripping red letters- _**It comes tomorrow night.**_

It? What was it? It couldn't be.. a ghost? I closed the book and ran back to my bed. After laying awake for what felt like hours, I dismissed my fears and went to sleep. Little did I know, opening that book was the worst mistake I ever made.


	6. Taken

The next night, I couldn't sleep at all. 'It' was supposed to come tonight. I was wrapped in blankets, curled up in the fetal position. I was not letting it take me, no matter what it was. As it turns out, I didn't have to worry. It didn't take me. I fell asleep quickly, hoping I would wake up safe and sound the next morning. I had a vivid dream. Something crashed through the window, and my sister was screaming. Something black and misty; it jumped out from the shadows and grabbed Justice, putting a dark hand over her mouth. The dream flashed to the room where the book was, laying on the ground. The message on the front page was gone. There was another scream as something heavy crashed to the ground, and, just like that, the figure was gone, and so was my sister. I woke up in a cold sweat the next morning. "Justice.." I mumbled, turning over to face her bed. There was no reply. "Justice?" I said at normal volume, getting a better view of her bed. It was empty. That wasn't just a dream; my sister was gone.

**A/N- Plot twist! Will Jana ever find her sister? And who will she turn to (I'll give you three guesses -_-) for help?**


	7. Making Plans

I ran downstairs and told aunt Stella about everything- the book, the ghost, and how Justice was taken.

I was too upset to cry. "It's all my fault! If I hadn't opened that stupid book!" I stomped my bare foot into the floor without thinking. Even in that much pain, the tears still wouldn't come. I skipped breakfast and ran three fourths of a mile, all the way to the Mystery Shack, where the twins were hanging out on the front steps. I was out of breath, and I spoke in half sentences. They came up to me. Dipper asked what was wrong. I was sniffling, but not crying. "Last night..." I was still trying to catch my breath.

Concerned, Dipper threw his arms around me. "Jana, what happened last night?!" Mabel chimed in.

"Is everything okay?" Still hugging Dipper, I felt the tears well up in my eyes. I batted at my left eye, sniffling. "My sister was kidnapped!" My voice sounded all stuffy and weird. Seeing the commotion,

Wendy came outside. "What's going on?" I was staring at the ground. "Justice got kidnapped last night."

She gasped, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jana. We'll find her. Someone will." She gave me a small hug and walked back inside, probably upset that her new friend was gone. My tears suddenly stopped, I felt more angry than anything. All I could think about was how much I wanted her back;

how much I wanted revenge. Dipper still looked concerned. "Jana-" "It's okay." "What?"

"It's okay because we're going to find her. The three of us." Neither of them were too sure about this idea. "Together." We were standing in an almost-triangle, so I put my hand in the middle. Dipper's expression turned to one of pure confidence. "Together." He placed his hand on top of mine. Mabel was tugging on her sleeve. I gave her a pleading, puppy-dog look. She shrugged, and topped off the pile of hands. "Together."

I slept over with Dipper and Mabel that night. No way was I staying in that house after last night's events.

I left a note on the fridge for aunt Stella.

Staying at the Mystery Shack with my friends. Might not come back for a few days.

Will call in the morning.

Love,

Jana, Xoxo.

Listening to silence and the sounds of breathing, I told myself it was okay. Everything was going to be okay. Who was I kidding? Nothing was okay. My sister was missing.


	8. The Search Begins

The next day, Dipper, Mabel, and I set out to find the monster that kidnapped my sister. I kept repeating in my head that we could do it together, but _only _together. My self-assessed job was to keep the group together at all times, no matter what went wrong. I had several opportunities to tell Dipper about my feelings, but the words just wouldn't come out. One night, I think it was Monday, I was quietly singing by the campfire when he approached me.

Don't wanna admit,

but we're not gonna fit,

No, I'm not the type, that you like

why don't we just pretend?

Lies,

Don't wanna know,

don't wanna know, oh

I, can't let you go,

can't let you go, oh

I just want it to be perfect

To believe it's all been worth the fight,

Lies, don't wanna know, don't wanna know, oh

I glanced back to see him standing behind me. "Oh. Hey, Dipper." I threw a small twig into the fire.

He sat down next to me on the log. "You have a nice voice." "You heard that? I mean... um.. thanks.

I.. don't sing in front of people." "Well, you should. You're really talented." "You think so?" He nodded, and there was a long pause in the conversation. "You know, they say a girl's music could tell you more than their mouth ever could." I said, hoping he would get the message. He didn't say anything, and I sighed in my head. "Maybe you should listen to Mabel's music sometime. I think you'd be surprised." "You know what? I will." I nodded, and he walked away. Another missed opportunity. Down the drain.


	9. Second Attack

That same night, I heard something rustling in the underbrush. I wasn't sure what it was, but I was nervous. "Calm down, J" I thought to myself. "It's probably just a bunny!" But minutes later, that eerie, shadowy outline appeared. It. Was. Not. A. Bunny. Repeat, not a bunny. An alarm went off in my head.

It was a good distance away-for now- so I whisper-yelled to Dipper and Mabel. "Guys, wake up!"

Seconds later, a huge fireball landed in the middle of our campsite, missing me by inches. I quickly rolled out of the way. How did it... I didn't even... What?! How could anyone- or anything- shoot a ball of fire like that? I smacked my forehead. "Flare gun, stupid!" my brain shouted at me. Another landed near our supplies. I quickly snatched whatever I could salvage, but the first thing I picked up was Dipper's journal. As I was running, a huge branch pinned down my leg, and I toppled over, bringing the supplies with me. I couldn't see Dipper or Mabel from my position, but I could tell that they were up and running. I was completely unable to move. I started to panic. Eventually, things quieted down, but right before the attack 'ended', something hit me hard in the back of the head, and everything went black.

When I opened my eyes, I was laying in a clearing somewhere, in the early morning, and Dipper was leaning over me. He noticed I was awake, so he helped me up. "Jana, are you okay?" I smiled at him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine Dipper." Then my smile faded, and my hand dropped to my side. "Where's Mabel?" I knitted my eyebrows. She was nowhere in sight. Dipper seemed unsure how to answer this question. My tone thickened. "Where Mabel?!" "She's gone. I couldn't find her anywhere." Dipper said with a sigh. I buried my head in my hands. "God, no!" My mumbling was muffled by my sweaty palms. Dipper tried to decode my language. "What?!" "The monster! That's what attacked our campsite! It must have taken her!" "But, why would it take her and not one of us?"

"That's the only question. I mean, we're both girls, and we're both twelve. It must have just been a

mix-up." Then I realized something that made my heart freeze. The monster was after me...


End file.
